Healing a Shattered Heart
by dragneellover269
Summary: Ryoma was betrayed by those he cared about, both his boyfriend and his team. He left Japan to 'recover', but did it actually help? After two years her returns, but he isn't the same, and what is this about Keigo not remembering him? Everybody now thinks he betrayed the ones who betrayed him, and are out to get him. How will this turn out? Warnings inside. ON HIATUS!


**Okay, so chapter one, here we go!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Prince of Tennis . . . *sigh***

Chapter One

Ryo's POV (16 years old)

_I fell in love with Keigo. I fell in love with his arrogant smirk, his beautiful face, his striking purple eyes, everything. The love I felt for him built me up, then broke me down, broke me all the way down to my very core, down to my soul. And it hurt. It hurt more than anything I'd ever felt before._

_Keigo broke my heart, broke my soul, broke everything I was. Seigaku did too. Seigaku broke me. That hurt, it hurt like hell itself was bearing down on me. I was shattered beyond recognition, beyond recovery, by the people I cared about most._

~~A week before the Nationals in high school~~

I walked through the walls of the Atobe Mansion, making my way towards Keigo's room. I had gone there without telling him, planning to give my lover a surprise visit. What I found there that day completely stunned me. I opened the door to Keigo's room and walked in, only to see him kissing Yukimura Seiichi. I had walked in just I time to hear him gasp, "I love you, Sei."

They didn't notice me; too busy making out to notice anything around them. A choked gasp made its way out of me without permission, and the two separated in shock. "R-Ryoma," Keigo said, staring at me.

"You know," I began, ". . . you could've said something if you didn't want to be with me anymore." My tone was icy, but the tears that made their way down my face gave me away. I turned on my heels and ran away before Keigo could even utter a single word.

I dashed down the hallways, startling servants, but I ignored them. I finally made my way blindly to the staircase, not looking where I was going. My foot slipped on the top step and I tumbled down the stairs. "Ryoma-sama!" the butler cried. A maid and he rushed towards me, but I just stumbled to my feet and dashed away again.

It was raining outside, but I still ran, away from the Atobe estate, away from Keigo, away from my shattered heart until I finally made it to my house. I staggered into the house and slammed the door behind me without a greeting. My father made it to the entryway first.

He took in my bleeding and soaked form quickly, and, instead of being his usual teasing self, he pulled me into his arms. "Shh, it'll be okay. You don't need to cry," he whispered to me. It was only then that I realized I was crying. My mother made it to the entryway next.

She was stunned for a minute at the sight of her usually cocky and arrogant son bleeding and crying in the arms of her usually cocky and arrogant husband. She recovered quickly and pulled us into the living room. By this time I had gone completely numb, barely processing, or caring about, what was going on around me.

While my mother took care of my wounds and my father held me comfortingly they asked me questions, and I answered quietly. "I'll be fine," I said as my mother finished with the first aid kit and walked upstairs to my room. I locked the door behind me. I fell onto my bed, exhausted, and fell into a deep sleep.

~~After the Nationals~~

We ended up winning the Nationals in the high school division. In the past few weeks the other regulars had commented on how I'd been acting more secluded and antisocial then usual, but I gave them little to go on. The only thing I told them was that Keigo and I had broken up.

Now they were commenting on how I should be more excited about winning the Nationals, but I just ignored them, content with listening to there excited chatter. I got up, telling them I'd leave first and meet them at Kawamura's restaurant. They looked worried but I ignored the looks and left, until I remembered that I left my spare racquet at the stadium.

I stopped walking when I heard the regulars' voices, just out of sight. "Can we stop pretending now~?" I heard Eiji whine, and I froze. 'Pretending?' I thought, confused.

"Yeah, this is getting irritating, pretending to care about the brat. We had to do it even in middle school. Can't we stop now that we've won again?" This time it was Momo-senpai. My heart broke all over again. 'Even the only friends I've ever had never cared?' I thought miserably. I put up my mask and smirked, walking into the stadium.

"Ne, senpai-tachi, you should've told me if all you were going to do was use me. It hurts that you lied the whole time," I said, not quite lying. The other regulars looked stunned at my appearance. I took my regulars' jersey off and dropped it onto the ground, pouring the Ponta in my hand on it. "Thanks for nothing," I said quietly, my voice shaking, and walked away, leaving my stunned senpai in the stadium.

I calmly made my way home, or as calmly as I could, but when I walked in, I couldn't hold my tears back. I rushed up the stairs, ignoring the comments from my baka-oyaji. I slammed my bedroom door behind me and locked it, a sob bursting from my lips. I lost all of my composure right there, all of the weight put on me finally breaking me down.

At some point I became numb, and there were only tears, no sobs to accompany them. My father's arms wrapped around me again soon after that, and I told him what happened, my voice breaking multiple times. I heard him say something about moving to America to help me 'recover', before falling asleep, but I fell asleep with the knowledge that no one really cared about me, that no one ever would, that I was hated.

~~Two Years Later~~

I yawned as I made my way through the airport, having gotten no sleep for the past twenty-eight hours. I gracefully moved through the crowds of Tokyo National Airport and out to the entrance. It was 2:17 am, but the cabs were still going, so I called one up to take me to my apartment, where my stuff had been sent ahead of time.

It took a fifteen minute drive to get to the apartment building, and I gave the driver a five-thousand yen bill, telling him to keep the change. He went screeching down the street once I was safely on the sidewalk, my bag in hand. I sighed and made my way to my apartment room, pulling my hat down low over my eyes.

I walked up the metal stairs to the third floor and walked down the walkway. I bumped into someone and was sent to the ground. I looked up and glared, but my glare faltered when I saw who knocked me down. It was Shinji Ibu. He looked surprised to see me, and angry as well, though I wasn't sure why he would be angry with me.

He began rambling, "Oh, it's you Echizen. You're back. I can't believe you had the guts to come back to Japan after what you did. First you left Atobe-kun and broke him, and then you betrayed Seigaku. You didn't even come back when Atobe-kun got in that car accident and forgot everything about you. You really are a jerk. . .

I was stunned, only staring at him with shock and horror written all over my face. I didn't hear anything he said after 'everything but you'. Shinji stopped his rant abruptly at the look on my face. "You didn't know? Wow, you really _are _a jerk if you didn't even bother to check on him-"

"Shut up," I growled in a dangerously low voice. "Did any of them tell you I abandoned them, that _I_ was the betrayer, that I was the one to hurt _them _to your face? Did they?" I asked.

Shinji was speechless and said nothing for once, instead opting to study my dark expression. "Are you saying _they _hurt _you_?" he finally asked, slightly incredulous. I said nothing, getting up and walked down the open-air walkway with an irritated growl. I found my door and took the key out, unlocking it.

I slammed the door behind me and locked it, then rubbed my sore left arm in slight regret at slamming the door so hard. I dropped my bag by the door while ignored all of the packed boxes lining the hallway and made my way to the one marked 'bed stuff' (for lack of a better idea). I grabbed the sheets and blankets out of the box and strode into the bedroom.

Once the bed was made and the pillows were set on it. I flumped onto the bed with a sigh and drifted into a merciless sleep full of bad memories I wanted to keep locked away.

I woke up the next morning to someone ringing my doorbell and banging on my door. I groaned and sat up, then got out of bed and walked down the box filled hallway towards the front door. I swung the door open, irritation clear on my face, to see a distressed looking Tezuka. That seemed out of character for him, but I didn't care at that moment.

"What?" I said with an icy yet annoyed tone (if that's even possible).

"You're really back? Why?" he asked, regaining his composure.

"Who told you I was back?" I asked, not curious at all.

"Shinji told Tachibana who told me," Tezuka replied. I rolled my eyes and started closing the door on him, my patience reaching its end. Tezuka stopped the door and I said, "Why did you come here, _**Buchou**_?" I asked venomously, and he flinched slightly.

"I'm- no _we're_ sorry for what se did to you. The whole team regrets hurting you like that. Please, forgive us," Tezuka said.

"How do you even know that I'm hurt about that? For all you know, I could've been using you," I said indifferently, masking my anger.

"Nanjirou-san called and told us about what happened after you left," he said quietly.

"I could never forgive you for that," I said, and promptly slammed the door in his face with my right hand. I sighed and looked at the time on my phone, which was still in my pocket. It was 4:49 p.m., and that meant I had gotten fourteen hours of sleep, even though I still felt exhausted.

I groaned slightly at the sight of all the boxes and got to work on unpacking everything, wanting to get it over with. It took three hours to get all of my things put away properly, and I was now both physically and mentally exhausted. My left arm throbbed with pain, and I grimaced, not wanting to remember that day.

I took the now empty boxes out to the trash bin behind the apartment building and walked back to my apartment, being careful to make sure there was no one I knew lurking around any corners. Once I was back in my apartment, I walked into the bathroom and turned the hot water in the shower on.

I grabbed a towel from under the sink and stripped myself of my clothes while the water heated up. I glanced at my arms and gave a slightly pained sigh at all of the scars covering them. I looked back up from my arms and made sure the water was hot enough before I stepped in the shower.

I washed my body, avoiding sensitive areas of my arms, and my hair slowly, reveling in the comforting warmth of the hot water. I finished cleaning myself and turned the water off, stepping out of the shower. I dried my body, and grabbed another towel to dry my dripping hair. Once I was dry enough, I secured the towel around my waist and slipped out of the bathroom.

I made my way to my bedroom and grabbed some underwear, black jeans, and a long sleeved white t-shirt, dressing myself quickly. I fell back onto my bed and closed my eyes, but I knew that it would be awhile before I could sleep, having woken up only three and a half hours before. I opened my eyes and sat up on the bed at the sound of my growling stomach.

I got off the bed and walked into the kitchen to make some food when the doorbell sounded again. I made an irritated noise in the back of my throat and ignored the door, taking out an instant ramen bowl.

I slammed the door of the microwave closed once the food was in and practically punched the numbers in. "Godammit that's annoying!" I muttered to myself. I strode through the house to the door and opened it to see Keigo.

**Okay do that's one chapter done. Please review and PM to tell me how it is. I'll take requests for the story or for other stories if you want. Thanks for reading and keep a look out!**

**Dragneellover out!**


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